MAMEWorld Forums - EmuChat - Cinematronics netlist thanks

* Posting this on old thread since it is netlist (analog audio) related *

Thanks to everyone [Aaron, couriersud, Frank Palazzolo, other contributors/cab owners?]
for making this a reality.

Hard to believe it was maybe close to twenty years earlier when the server that hosted Retrocade stopped working and then Retrocade emulator was gone and the fans of Cinematronics Armor Attack were bemoaning the loss of audio sounds of Armor Attack as similar as if it were an artifact that could never be replaced. Thankfully that sentiment was gone since it would eventually be known that the analog audio schematics info was printed on Cinematronic Armor Attack service manuals. Those old discussions had to have been on Gridle's old MAME.net forum back in 2001 and 2002 years so at least folks knew that things were not lost. Eventually new external audio samples would be added over the past several years to existing source code so the various Cinematronic and Vector Beam games would still have external audio samples......until the 'real thing' would come along and replace external audio sample recordings.

Nice to know this is finally what happened and what it would require to get things correct regarding Cinematronics and Vector Beam games analog audio outputs.

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https://github.com/mamedev/mame/commit/f23db5da38f1e027a93a7d9afab5814122cec1f5

Added netlist-based audio to early Cinematronics vector games (#6979)

Added netlist simulations for the following games: Space War, Barrier, Star Hawk, Speed Freak, Star Castle, War of the Worlds, Sundance, Tail Gunner, Rip Off, Armor Attack, Warrior, Solar Quest, Boxing Bugs. Removed previous samples-based sound. [Aaron Giles, Couriersud]
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It will be great to have Cinematronics Star Hawk to finally have the 'laser' high score sound effect finally be played correctly. Back in early 1980s when Cinematronics games were at arcades and maybe a working Star Hawk cab was in the arcade, I would recognize that particular sound effect when maybe at a distance of 25 to 50 yards away and would know that a working Star Hawk cab was nearby. There are particular coinop games sound effects that are easily memorable even if a long time has gone by. Great to have MAME finally have the Cinematronics and Vector Beam analog audio being 'run' correctly (no external audio samples).

For the younger generation or new visitors, this Cinematronics work is the road map
of what will need to be done for Sega VIC DUAL hardware games because the particular Sega games also make use of an extra add-on audio board that generates analog audio sound effects just like what Cinematronics and Vector Beam cabs use.

So for any of the Sega Carnival, Frogs, Borderline, NSub, fans....look at this Cinematronic road map https://github.com/mamedev/mame/commit/f23db5da38f1e027a93a7d9afab5814122cec1f5

to see how these particular Sega games will be handled in the future.

btw: left a message in case any of the Sega vicdual games are ready to be worked on later.

Edited by gregf (07/23/20 01:20 AM)